There’s no doubt canines used by Wilmington police work hard. That’s what these dogs are bred to do.

Even when they are done at work, the dogs return to their handler’s home, where they are placed in a kennel to get ready for the next day’s job. Even at home, they usually don’t interact with anyone other than the handler.

But it’s not always so.

Wilmington police retire these animals once they hit the age of nine, so they can enjoy the rest of their lives – usually with their handlers. (German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois – two breeds used by WPD – tend to have a life span of about 13 years, according to Dog Breed Info Center.)

“At age nine its time to retire, time for him to be a regular dog,” said Wilmington police Master Cpl. Donald Witte, who trains unit members. “Now it’s time for him to come home and you can spoil him. That’s the ultimate goal for us.”

Witte said it takes the dogs some time to adjust to retired life.

“It’s a little different for them because they’re use to working,” Witte said. “But it only takes about a month to have them get use to ‘Hey I got full range of the house, I got this, I got that.'”

This isn’t a set rule. Every law enforcement agency decides when its canines will retire.